Driver charged in wreck

Two motorists now face charges related to a fatal crash that killed a pair of mo-ped riders on U.S. 17 Bypass.

Authorities say the first vehicle, driven by a Coastal Carolina University student, hit the mo-ped that carried two foreign guest workers, then a second vehicle driven by a Myrtle Beach woman hit one of the mo-ped riders. Both drivers left the scene of the accident, 15th Circuit Solicitor Greg Hembree said Monday.

The second suspect, Mary Cornelia Senick, 44, was charged Sunday with leaving the scene of a crash involving the death of one victim.

Killed in the collision were Viktor Yaninski and Simone Tomlinson.

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Police said Senick's charge is related to leaving the scene of Yaninski's death.

S.C. Highway Patrol linked debris found at the scene to a Nissan Maxima that Senick was driving, Hembree said.

The driver of the other vehicle, 21-year-old Ashley Smith, was charged last week with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death. Hembree said her sport utility vehicle struck the mo-ped before Senick's vehicle hit Yaninski.

Smith, a Lancaster resident and CCU sophomore, has maintained that she did not hit the mo-ped.

The crime carries a maximum sentence of 25 years for each count of leaving the scene of an accident involving death.

It remains unclear whether Yaninski was standing or lying in the road, and whether he was alive when he was hit, authorities said.

A third driver, who pulled up to the scene after Smith, used a flashlight to help direct traffic around the wreck, Hembree said.

Tomlinson, 19, of Jamaica, and Yaninski, 21, of Bulgaria, were riding southbound on the bypass about 3 a.m. on June 19 when their mo-ped was hit.

They were working at a Myrtle Beach hotel for the summer.

Senick was booked at J. Reuben Long Detention Center on Sunday afternoon. Her bail was set at $15,000. She is also charged with one count of operating an uninsured vehicle.

She has no criminal history in South Carolina, and no record of traffic citations in Horry or Georgetown counties, according to databases maintained by clerks of court in both counties and the State Law Enforcement Division.

Hembree said no additional arrests are likely in the crash.

Exact circumstances surrounding the crash remained a mystery Monday. Details may not be released until the pending charges are resolved, authorities said.

The incident was the fifth Horry County crash this year in which a driver fled the scene of an accident where one or more people were killed.

Meanwhile, a memorial for Tomlinson will be held tonight at the American Hospitality Academy, which helped her find employment for the summer, said spokesman Jim Ohl.

The event will be hosted by other Jamaican students at 6 p.m. in the academy's training center, located at 3926 Wesley St., suite 704 in Myrtle Beach.